No. 23 Rutgers

Rutgers had a bye last weekend, giving it time to think about how poorly it played in a 35-23 loss at home against Kent State.

The Scarlet Knights are 7-1, but the remaining schedule is very challenging after Army comes to town this weekend.

Road games against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh will follow, and then the season will conclude with a home game against Louisville.

Rutgers has clearly exceeded expectations, and perhaps played better than its talent-level. Running back Jawan Jamison is one of the best in the conference. He controls the offense for the Scarlet Knights. He will need to get some help for Rutgers to beat the more talented teams in the league.

It would not be out of the question to see Rutgers lose two of its remaining four games and fall well out of the rankings.

No. 19 USC

USC gave up more points in a loss to Oregon than any other game in the history of the program. The Trojans did manage to score 51 points, but were no match for a very talented Oregon offense.

Wide receiver Marqise Lee may be the most talented player in the country, and quarterback Matt Barkley is still the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Still, with three losses, USC has a road game remaining against UCLA and a home game to close out the year against Notre Dame. Odds are the Trojans lose one or two of those games and finish the season outside of the Top 25.

There is no discipline and plenty of questions marks surrounding the defense. Without question, this is the most disappointing team in the country so far this season.

No. 18 UCLA

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Contender

A lot of people do not take notice of the late-night West Coast games, but for those who saw, UCLA dominated Arizona 66-10.

It was one of the more impressive wins of the weekend and running back Johnathan Franklin has emerged as one of the best in the league. He has already rushed for over 1,200 yards with eight touchdowns on the season.

Freshman quarterback Brett Hundley has passed for 2,478 yards with 21 touchdowns and only eight interceptions.

The Bruins are a hard team to judge, and with both Stanford and USC remaining on the schedule a lot is still to be determined.

Either way, UCLA is about where they should be as far as the rankings are concerned.

No. 10 Florida State

Florida State is a point away from being undefeated and the No. 2 team in the country. Instead, the Seminoles sit at No. 9 with a huge shot to move up in the coming weeks.

After a bye week, the Seminoles are ready for a showdown at Virginia Tech on Thursday. With a game against Florida still on the horizon, Florida State has a real shot to move up in the rankings.

Statistically speaking there is no team in the country that is more dominant. The Seminoles rank third in the country averaging nearly 45 points a game and have a defense that also ranks third, allowing 12 points a night.

Florida State is without question the best team in the ACC, and could still be one of the best in the country by winning all of its remaining games.

No. 8 South Carolina

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Pretender

South Carolina had a bye over the weekend. The off week, not only helped the team recover physically, but also gave it time to get its head in order mentally after the devastating injury to star running back Marcus Lattimore.

The Gamecocks are another team who will be a beneficiary of high computer rankings. They have lost two of their past three games, but are ranked very favorably at No. 8.

Without Marcus Lattimore, it is going to be tough, but the Gamecocks could qualify for a BCS Bowl game if they win out.

To win out, it will be necessary to knock off Clemson on the road. That is not going to be an easy task, particularly for a team who has not played well in recent weeks.

Odds are the Gamecocks finish with three losses and fall short of a BCS Bowl game.

No. 7 LSU

LSU suffered the most devastating loss of any team over the weekend, losing 21-17 to rival Alabama.

The loss knocked LSU out of contention for not only the national championship, but also the SEC title. What the loss did bring about however, was the emergence of quarterback Zach Metteberger.

He has the best game of his LSU career and appears headed in the right direction after throwing for nearly 300 yards against the vaunted Crimson Tide defense. With one of the most challenging schedules in the country, the Tigers are certainly as good as their No. 7 record indicates.

With the exception of Alabama, at this point in the season, the Tigers appear to be the best team in the conference. That is likely to continue if Mettenberger plays the way he did on Saturday.

No. 6 Florida

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Pretender

The Florida Gators did beat Missouri 14-7 over the weekend, but the offense seems to be headed in the wrong direction over the past few games.

Quarterback Jeff Driskel has struggled the past two games as the Gators have only managed a combined 23 points in those two contests. He has passed for only 297 combined yards with a touchdown and two picks.

The defense has been a constant all season long, and will be there night in and night out. Florida will reach a BCS bowl game if it can win its remaining three games, but that is easier said than done with Florida State on the horizon.

The Gators are good, but not the sixth best team in the country. It will take an upset victory at Florida State in the final game of the season for the Gators to go to a BCS Bowl game.

No. 5 Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs have benefited more than any other team when it comes to the computer rankings and finds itself ranked higher than any other one-loss team.

They are fresh off a 37-10 victory over Ole Miss, and will be playing for the SEC Championship if they can win at Auburn on Saturday.

That game however, will almost certainly come against an Alabama team that is far an away the more talented of the two teams.

Georgia is likely going to need to knock off Alabama to reach a BCS bowl game. The Bulldogs are a very talented team, but nowhere near good enough to beat Alabama on a neutral field, or contend for a national championship.